Review/comments from an August-2024 Stay.Booking:

“Standard” room sat this Embassy Suites aren’t suites, but 1K rooms. We opted to book a premium room for the added space. We booked a 1K, 2 bunk bed suite. We were given the option to upgrade via NOR1 to a 1K/2Q 2-bedroom suite for $250/night and politely declined.

Arrival:

Valet was lined up onto the main road. Traffic was blocked. We pulled into the valet lane and exited the vehicle. Valet attended asked us to move the vehicle so others could be attended to. Once we finally parked, we had to cart our belongings to the valet desk and hand off the keys. Other times we used valet were quick and very friendly. Good service overall. $22 per day is tough to swallow when the rear of the property is a large parking lot, but I get they enforce it because of proximity to the public beach and shopping areas.

Check-in:

None of our selected room-type were available via digital check-in. We approached the desk and were told no rooms were ready. There were a dozen families sitting in the lobby waiting on rooms. We were given wristbands to admit us to the pool and patio. We asked about a call/text when the room was ready and the front desk agent said “we don’t do that. You have to come up and ask later.” We waited about an hour and returned to the front desk. The agent called housekeeping who said they were “in the process of loading up the room”. She recommended we return in about 30 minutes. As we waited in the lobby with others, the FDA brought our keys out to us a little after the 4:00pm check-in time. We were welcome to enjoy the pool while we waited for the room to be ready.

Wrist bands are similar to those you see in hospitals. They’re permanent unless they’re cut off using scissors. This is likely to prevent fraud, theft, and sharing with non-guests. This setup would become an annoyance in a longer stay when they’d become waterlogged after multiple trips to the pool. The rigid edges/clasp becomes an issue during bathing and sleeping, as well.

Resort fee is $22 and covers pool games, WiFi, bike rental, waters, and patio games. No resort fee is charged on points stays. Digital key was not pushed out at check-in. Requested it to be sent out at 4:15pm

Pool:

No pool towels available for at least the first hour. Dirty towel bin was overflowing. Towels appeared later, but were just thrown in a rolling bin. No indication if they were clean or not, just tossed loosely and unfolded. Returned to pool the morning of our second day… no towels. Poolside restaurant website was down so menus couldn’t be viewed unless you had a paper copy.

The pool was large and very busy. No lifeguards or amenities managers were onsite so it became chaotic with kids using the water slide, throwing balls, and using water guns. The smell of THC products was noticeable. The bar nearby was staffed with friendly gentlemen. Prices were high, but that’s not unexpected for the busy season. 12-oz Modelo was $10. Kids lemonade was $5. Virgin daiquiris were $12.

Room:

Unable to sign into Hilton WiFi. System continuously returned an error saying we “couldn’t be found”. It appears the check-in wasn’t completed correctly. Reached out to front desk. Completed within 20 minutes. Wifi was great throughout the stay, but was limited to inside the building only. No WiFi available in outside areas (pool, patio).

Room is nicely appointed and furnishings appear contemporary. Found it odd/unsafe that the top bunk did not include a rail. Kids can roll right off. The sink in the kitchenette is 5” wide. You’ll never be able to wash a plate, etc. but none are included. The bathroom had all 5 “Zero” branded refillable toiletries. Water pressure was adequate, but the tub/shower diverter was about 50% effective… when showering, a significant amount of water continued to flow out of the tub filler.

Housekeeping was spotty. Floor tiles in bathroom needed vacuum and scrubbing. We found two bags of snacks from the previous guest on a bottom shelf. Minor oversight, but shows a lack of attention to detail. We found canine fecal matter in the hallway and notified housekeeping. Not the hotel's fault, but just an unfortunate side effect of staying in pet friendly properties.

New TVs with satellite connections for live TV went out multiple times during a thunderstorm. Signing onto Netflix was a breeze.

A/C blew extremely cold which was a pleasant surprise.

F&B:

The manager’s reception was inside adjacent to the pool deck, but the line was never less than 30 guests deep. Food/snacks consisted of carrots and celery, goldfish crackers, and pretzels. Drinks were 4-oz pours of regular and light domestic beer and 2-oz pours of red or white wine.

Breakfast is a huge spread with made-to-order meat and eggs, full buffet, etc. Breakfast is free for all guests, but you are strongly encouraged to tip via room charges. Bills for $0 breakfast charge and a big tip line are placed on every table. There are no servers… drinks, coffee, food are all self-serve.

Overall:

This property has a phenomenal location, despite no direct beach access. However, the property is not staffed with sufficiently attentive or engaged housekeeping and customer care teams and it shows. We’d look elsewhere for future visits to the area. If you’re looking for a clean and quiet beach trip, I’d recommend the Hilton in Sandestin.















Extra benefits for LTD members. However, our room only had popcorn and water.





"Permanent" wrist-bands required for amenity use.










Upstairs outdoor area was described as a "common area" with bar service. However, the bar isn't staffed full time.



No rail on the top bunk.








Interesting sink design.








Canine fecal matter in the hallway.








I like the wireless charging options.



Clean or dirty towels? Who knows.